Scottish farmed salmon is being marketed in such a way that consumers could be misled as to the origin, welfare and environmental performance of their purchases, according to a new report by WildFish.
The report, ‘The Reality Gap: An examination of Scottish farmed salmon’, analysed marketing tools used by the Scottish salmon farming industry and compared them with mortality rates, sea lice levels and chemical usage on farms run by Scotland’s seven salmon farming companies.
It found that Scottish farmed salmon has been positioned as a premium, high-welfare and, in some cases, sustainable fish product.
However, none of the companies are currently operating in a way which adequately protects both fish welfare and the environment, the report said.
“Consumers of farmed salmon are being sold a mistruth – one that perpetuates the idea that fish raised in an intensive and destructive production system, where 25% of the fish die prematurely, are ‘responsibly produced’ and environmentally sustainable,” said Lex Rigby, farmed salmon campaign manager at WildFish.
The report also shed light on tools used by the industry to distance its fish from the heavily industrialised way in which it is produced, including certification schemes, the updated Protected Geographical Indication, own-brand labels, smokehouses and third-party suppliers.
The PGI was updated last year to remove the word “farmed” which the government argued was unnecessary and pejorative, so the product can now just be called Scottish salmon. Campaigners have argued it is less clear for consumers and counts as greenwashing but the sector says it is one of the most highly regulated in the world.
Read more: Scottish salmon no longer needs to be labelled ‘farmed’, tribunal finds
The body representing Scottish salmon producers, Salmon Scotland, has dismissed the report from WildFish as the charity is “an anti-salmon farming loybbying group that wants to make 12,500 Scots unemployed while campaigning for the right to catch and kill and endangered species”.
“Its latest report is no different to previous reports they have written, which recycle fake news to attack one of Scotland’s most important food production sectors,” the spokesperson for Salmon Scotland added.
The report from WildFish also analysed data published by the Scottish government and the salmon farming companies revealing mortality rates, sea lice levels and chemical usage.
Mowi reported almost five million farmed salmon deaths on its farms in 2023 and used 1.3 million litres of hydrogen peroxide across the period. Between 2013 and 2023, Mowi doubled its use of the organophosphate pesticide Azamethiphos.
Wester Ross has continued to market its fish as being ‘hand-reared’ through third-party supplier sites, despite moving towards automation since it was purchased by Mowi in 2022. The company used more than 6,000 litres of hydrogen peroxide in 2023. It claims it does not use any medicines on its farms, the report said.
Loch Duart breached code of good practice sea lice levels on more than one-third of its farms in 2022. It also reported using over 41,000 litres of hydrogen peroxide in 2023.
And finally, marketing for Bakkafrost’s Native Hebridean Salmon brand has been accused of causing confusion for consumers as to whether the salmon is wild or farmed. It has suffered some of the highest mortality rates on its farms in recent years, with two sites reporting more than 80% mortality in 2022 and 2023.
More than 350 chefs, restaurants, community groups, charities and NGOs are supporting WildFish’s Off the Table campaign, which asks chefs and restaurants to take farmed salmon off their menus.
“The sheer number of chefs and restaurants joining Off the Table clearly shows what a keen appetite there is for sustainability within our hospitality sector in the UK – and further afield,” said Rigby. “In turn, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the high environmental cost and poor welfare standards of farmed salmon – regardless of industry marketing strategies implying otherwise.”
“WildFish’s failed attempt to force the UK government to change the naming convention for Scottish salmon had no basis in law, yet it dragged the government through the courts at taxpayers’ expense anyway,” said the spokesperson for Salmon Scotland. “While WildFish pours its funds into a campaign to ban salmon farming, the sector is investing £230,000 in community projects this year as part of a £1.5 million scheme to halt the decline of wild Atlantic salmon — real action to protect the species, rather than throwing money away on campaigns that achieve nothing.”
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